Existing visual media capture devices implement a single physical or virtual button for initiating capture upon a press of the button and terminating capture automatically, upon release of the button, or upon another press of the button. Automated data collection at the time of capture allows for a crude organization of captured media based upon objective characteristics such as time or location of capture. The organization of large quantities of captured visual media is a longstanding problem. This problem has worsened with the increasing ease of use and availability of visual media capture devices, such as smartphones, with large amounts of data storage capacity. I have found it a major shortcoming that existing designs do not provide any adequate mechanism for creative or subjective categorization responsive to the captured media. Creative or subjective categorization differs qualitatively from uses of visual media capture served by current designs; a design that provided for such would be of great utility to visual thinkers including creatives working in visual industries.
Some digital visual media capture devices have organizational options that do not alter the capture design. For example, some digital visual media capture devices allow the user to manage folders on the digital storage medium and select one as a destination for subsequently captured visual media. Folder management and selection is entirely distinct from the capture operation by design: it requires navigating the settings menus of the camera to either create a new folder or select an existing folder. To create a new folder the user is prompted to either manually input a name for the new folder or to confirm the default naming convention of the device. This design requires that a user specify the desired organizational category (colloquially an “album”) prior to capture. Specifying the desired organizational category for the result of a capture prior to capture is problematic in that it requires the user to envision the result of the capture beforehand. Additionally, setting the desired organizational category prior to beginning a capture operation delays the user from reaching his/her proximate goal of capturing visual media.
Other digital visual media capture devices have organizational options that alter the capture design by allowing folder assignment or creation after capture, but still require that a user either manually input a name for the new folder or to confirm the default naming convention of the device. Visual media capture devices are capable of implementing applications (“apps”) that modify the functionality of the device implementing the app for a niche specific purpose. For example, some apps are tailored to create posts on social media network platforms used for sharing visual media, text, links and more. A device running an app for a niche specific purpose may implement organizational features ancillary to a purpose distinct from visual media capture, such as making a social media post. In each of these devices, creating a new categorization entails requesting that the user provide information, such as inputting a title for the categorization, which requires significant abstract reasoning to anticipate what title would be appropriate for a set where the user has only one member so far, severely limiting the creative utility of the feature and the ability of the feature to reflect fluid subjective judgments. This solicitation of text information from user is preserved in order to facilitate organizational structures and display methods known presently in the art. Using these organizational features requires significant time and mental effort, limiting their practical value and explaining why these designs have not been widely adopted for visual media capture devices where visual media capture is not ancillary to a distinct purpose.
In sum, organization of large quantities of captured visual media is a longstanding problem with no existing visual media capture device providing a solution that allows organization along any subjective or objective parameter in a timely fashion that requires little mental and physical effort. Moreover, as it has not been previously recognized as a shortcoming of visual media capture devices, no existing device attempts to provide for fluidly creative and subjective organization responsive to the captured media akin to thinking visually. While such a use of a visual media capture device is qualitatively different from uses served by current designs, a visual media capture device that provides for creative and subjective organization with ease would be of great utility to visual thinkers including creatives working in visual industries.